Just hours before word broke that the Timberwolves had fired head of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, team executive Sachin Gupta was meeting with Rosas to smooth things over in advance of the upcoming season, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
As has been previously reported, Gupta explored leaving the organization this summer when he received a job offer from the Rockets. He was blocked by Rosas from accepting that opportunity, since it technically would’ve been a lateral move based on his title, though Krawczynski suggests that it would have come with a “substantial” pay raise. That situation was said to have considerably strained the relationship between the two executives, but Gupta is diplomatic now when he discusses it.
“Those types of things happen around the league,” Gupta said. “I was just focused on doing the best that I could for everyone here in this building and for the team. I’m excited about the decisions that we were all able to make together. Really excited about where we’re at now and about moving forward.”
As Krawczysnki details, after meeting with Rosas to bury the hatchet, Gupta was summoned to meet later in the day with team owner Glen Taylor, who gave him control of the Wolves’ front office following Rosas’ dismissal.
“I’ll be honest, it was definitely a whirlwind that first day,” Gupta told Krawczysnki. “But now that we’re in camp and everyone’s ready to go, definitely everyone’s moved past what’s happened and is really focused on our goals for this year. There’s a lot of good energy in the building and a lot of excitement.”
Here’s more on the Wolves:
- Gupta is close with Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch, who says the two franchise leaders talk twice a day and are “leaning on each other a lot right now,” per Krawczynski. “I think we’re completely aligned, not just in terms of basketball philosophy, but in terms of our values and the kind of culture we want to build here,” Gupta said.
- Zarko Durisic, a popular longtime Timberwolves scout who was let go by Rosas, is back with the team, according to Krawczynski (Twitter link). Durisic will have the same title (senior player personnel scout) and duties as he did before, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.
- After spending last season on Nate Bjorkgren‘s staff in Indiana, Moses Ehambe has joined the Timberwolves as the team’s director of player programs, a league source tells Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).
- While the Timberwolves are close to the tax line and likely won’t take on any extra salary this season, they have more flexibility going forward, opening the door for them to swap expiring deals for multiyear contracts, John Hollinger of The Athletic writes in his season preview. Hollinger likes some of the Wolves’ talent, but thinks they need another reliable forward or two and projects them to finish 12th in the West with a 36-46 record.
The excitement would stem directly from Anthony Edwards.
KAT is great, but just like Kevin Love before him, great individual stats don’t always predict a future winning team. But…
Edwards passes the eye test as a near-future Alpha (if he isn’t already) super-star. Combine him with a healthy KAT and D-Lo. Throw in some interesting supporting role players in McDaniels, Beasley, Prince, Beverly, Naz Reid, etc., and you have real reasons to be excited for this roster.
Edwards is your A+ potential
Towns is a solid A- or A potential
D-Lo has been a B+ player before
They started Okogie and McDaniels along side these three. Nice defensive starting 5.
I must say there is no way that Edwards will ever be at KAT’s level, is more I would bet the farm that Edward’s best ever season in his career will not be as good as KAT’s worst ever season… I mean KAT is an absolute legend & a top 5 player in the league, Edwards will never be an MVP candidate as a matter of fact!
That’s an interesting comparison between Kevin Love and Towns I think a lot of people would agree with, except of course for the other responder who hilariously calls KAT a top-5 player. He is a lot like Boogie Cousins who also put up big numbers, but never really amounted to much in the NBA (although injuries had a lot to do with that).
If KAT accepts a “Robin” role to Edwards “Batman” role, then we could have a special thing happen. Humility in the best of players can lead to team success (like the Bulls once MJ had enough competent supporting players to win)
MJ took on the PG role so that Ron Harper could play his customary 2G. He could have just pushed for a Harper trade, who after all was acquired by the Bulls just in case Jordan did not sign a new deal. But no, MJ just adopted the new PG role that Harper did not have the talent to do, and three more titles followed.
So anyway, agree, although I’m not sure yet what kind of leader Edwards is… he may not be the best at it either. Towns is likable but I think his game is confusing people.
Have you seen the preseason games at all?
This looks like a very deep roster. If their big 3 remain mostly healthy this year, they could accomplish much more than the experts are predicting.
Their bench has three or four guys that could be starting elsewhere.
Of course, Gupta has to be an optimistic kiss-ass when speaking to the media and Glen Taylor concerning the Timberpuppies; that’s how you bamboozle the money men and both get and keep top jobs in the NBA.
As Director of Player Programs, MOSES will continue to wander the playoff DESERT with the team’s players as they continue the frustrating team’s 32 year existence since their 1989 inception. But relax, MOSES will get them to the promised land in only 8 more years, bringing the total years of wandering to a total of 40 YEARS.
BTW, Hollinger, you are clearly deluded; the Timberpuppies will not have less than 50 LOSSES !
Lmao man way to force your biblical analogy with all caps. But yea it sounds like you think the Wolves are worse than the Kings and Rockets? Just look at the schedule, man.